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QUINN DIRECT BRITISH MASTERS

May 14, 2006

Johan Edfors

WISHAW, ENGLAND

RODDY WILLIAMS: Johan, thank you very much, winner of the Quinn Direct British Masters. Two victories in a couple of months, I think it's turning into a pretty good season.

JOHAN EDFORS: Yeah, not too bad, after getting my card back last fall, it's just been a fantastic year for me.

RODDY WILLIAMS: What were you thinking particularly over those last nine holes when you saw Casey and Campbell were stumbling and came through from there? Talk us through that.

JOHAN EDFORS: Well, I made a great up and down there on 12, the par 3. Then I thought walking down 13 after my drive, I saw I was tied for the lead. I knew if I took advantage of the par 5s coming in, I would have a good chance of winning and did that with a couple great putts on 16 and 17. Couldn't afford a 3 putt on 18, so that was really nice.

Q. What were the shots on 15 through 18?

JOHAN EDFORS: Well, on 15, I hit a really good drive. It was into the wind and I had like I think I had 250 yards to the front of the green. I knew it was a really good 3 wood for me to get it up there. I was considering hitting a driver for a while, but the lie wasn't perfect. Ended up hitting 3 wood, and I hit it a little bit to the right and over the green side bunker and had a fairly nice angle coming in. Hit a decent chip up, thought it pretty good, but just rolled back down the slope again. Had a pretty tough putt there up the hill and hit it way too hard, but hit the back of the hole and jumped up and then went down in the hole. So it was a great feeling.

16, I hit a really good second shot there from the rough. I had a pretty bad lie in the rough there, got up on the green and made two putts for par.

Then on 17, I've been hitting driver there every day, but I'm hitting it too far, so today hit a 3 wood and I hit it exactly on the line where I was aiming, but caught it way too good. So it went over 300 yards through the fairway, a horrible lie in the rough. So I just chipped it out with my lob wedge and hit it up from 195 yards to about 20 feet and holed a great putt there down the hill.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: Well, after that, I had a good season in 2003 when I won the Challenge Tour and I really thought I had the game to go out on The European Tour, but I realized pretty soon that I didn't have the game, I mean, I wasn't good enough. Some aspects of my game was way too poor on the way The European Tour courses are set up with more rough around the greens and faster greens and tougher pin placements. My short game, I didn't have the short game that was needed.

After that, when I lost my card, I started working with a new coach. And I thought we were going to work mostly on my short game, but we worked on everything it feels like, still a work in progress. I really felt already last year that I was improving, and couldn't get any really good results.

I finished 45th on the Challenge Tour and then got my card back at the Qualifying School, got the 13th card. Got off to a good start in December, a couple tournaments in South Africa, I came in top 20, playing really nicely, but throwing away a lot of shots around the greens.

Then suddenly in China, I took advantage of my chances and I was striking the ball as good as I ever had I think in China. So even though I didn't think I putted that great that week, I still shot 25 under, whatever it was. I took that with me coming into the next tournament. I've been striking the ball pretty nicely, but my putting has been horrible for a couple of weeks. And then suddenly found something in Spain with one of my coaches and working hard on that for the last few weeks and it's starting to pay off. I've been putting as good as I have in a long this week. So it's been a great feeling to actually think you're going to hole a putt.

Q. What change did you make to the putting?

JOHAN EDFORS: Actually I changed my grip completely. I'm having my right hand lower than my left, I'm now holding them at the same level with the thumb equal on the grip right there. It's a little hard to explain, but makes me get both hands working together much more, and I've also been doing a lot of putting practice with just one hand, both my left hand and my right hand. I've really been improving since I started doing that.

Q. Different grip?

JOHAN EDFORS: No, I have the normal grip. I don't have very big fingers.

Q. Did you think 11 under would be a winning score?

JOHAN EDFORS: At the start of the week, I was at 14 under would be a good winning score I thought if conditions stayed like they were. But then after I saw Casey come up there, he was 14 under after three or four holes today, I thought you probably needed 16 under. I didn't think he was going to make that many mistakes.

But I just hung in there. I thought it was playing pretty difficult today, especially on the front nine; 8 and 9 are playing really tough. I made some good up and downs for pars and suddenly made those two birdies there on 15 and 17 and saw that I had a two shot lead. Pretty cool feeling I think being up there on 18, thinking about watching TV at the Ryder Cup, a lot of spectacular things that have happened there on the 18th. I felt pretty calm.

Swing is much better today. Struggled yesterday off the tee, but today I was hitting my driver pretty good again. I felt pretty confident off the tee and hit a decent 3 iron up there short and right and three putts.

Q. Who is your coach?

JOHAN EDFORS: It's two coaches. One is Richard Fors, and another one is Lawrence Evertsson.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: That was actually my manager, Johan Elliot. He called Chubby and I was right next to him.

Q. Have you spoken to him yet?

JOHAN EDFORS: I'm waiting, I'm going to call my girlfriend pretty soon here.

Q. Any thoughts of Ryder Cup now?

JOHAN EDFORS: Oh, definitely. I talked to my manager this morning and he said that two more wins and you'll be there. I'm happen way there now. I still need to win another really big event to be up there. But the way I'm playing now I think I proved myself in a really great field this week. I think I have a pretty good chance of winning another one.

Q. What would you bring to the Ryder Cup?

JOHAN EDFORS: What would I bring to the Ryder Cup? I think game wise I think my strength is probably my driving. But I'm pretty good when I get when I have a good feeling over a shot, I'm really good with my irons as well. Still have to work on my low irons, 2, 3, 4 and 5, but 6 and up, I'm pretty good.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: No, I mean, I've had the same coach my whole life. I wasn't very interested in doing any swing changes. I was mostly playing on film and I was pretty good with my old swing as well. I could hit a lot of different shots, but I was really dependent on good timing. We've been working very, very hard mostly on the backswing to get me to make more of a turn instead of just lifting my arms up and using my hips to get all of the power.

If you watch me on the driving range, it's a pretty big difference from when I'm hitting on the course. But if I found a really good thing; on the course I play and afterwards I practice on my technique. It's working very nicely. The more I practice my technique, the better I hit on the course, as well. So hopefully the work in progress will be almost finished by the end of the year and I can really compete next year.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: I'm working on my backswing. And also I'm really a feel player, so I try to feel the shot before I hit it. That's how I I don't really see the shots, I feel the shots, so that's what I'm trying to do before I hit the shot.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: Has always been RS sport (ph). I saw a nice Jaguar out there, so who knows.

I mean, how can you do anything else than smile, out on a beautiful course, great condition and a big crowd. I think that's why I'm playing. I love playing in front of a big crowd. I love the feeling of when the adrenaline is pumping and you're coming down the stretch and have a chance of winning. I mean, that's the best feeling you can have.

RODDY WILLIAMS: Johan, thank you very much, congratulations.

End of FastScripts.

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